Minnesota Vikings rookie safety Harrison Smith joined Vince Ferrara and Jesse Smithey on the "News Sentinel Sports Page" on "The Sports Animal" (WNML) in Knoxville to talk about his first year in the NFL and some notable experiences.

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The Minnesota Vikings had a great 2012 season. Not much was expected of the Vikings going into the year. The Vikings only won three games a year ago. Thanks in large part to an amazing comeback from injury by freak running back Adrian Peterson, Minnesota finished 10-7 after losing at the Green Bay Packers in the Wildcard Round of the NFL Playoffs.

Johnathan Daniel - Getty Images

Another factor in the tremendous improvement of the Vikings this season was the fantastic rookie-year of first-round draft pick Harrison Smith. Smith played at Notre Dame after starring at Catholic High School in Knoxville, Tennessee.

To hear our entire interview with Harrison Smith of the Minnesota Vikings, click the video to the left.

Harrison Smith on setting personal goals before the season:

“I actually hit all of them. I think it actually helped to have something to aim for.”

On seeing fellow East Tennessee native Randall Cobb of the Packers on the field the first time:

“I was covering a punt and he was returning the punt. He fair caught it, and I went over and we said ‘what’s up?’.”

On Adrian Peterson:

“There’s really not a lot of words that can describe what he does. He’s the most talented guy that I’ve ever seen and he has the best work ethic that I’ve ever seen. He’s just a freak show.”

On AD nearly breaking the single season rushing record:

“He was nine yards short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s record. In the locker-room he wasn’t even that mad. He was just like ‘You know what, I’m going to shatter it next year.’ That’s just the type of person he is.”

On his training camp rookie initiation song he had to sing in front of the team:

“I actually sang the Ignition Remix by R. Kelly.”

He also shared his predictions for the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

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